James D. Shaffer

Food System Organization and Performance: Toward a Conceptual Framework

My purpose is to explore some ideas and problems concerning a conceptual framework for organizing knowledge of the relationship between political-economic organization and performance, with application to the U.S. food system. The connection with postKeynesian economics is that of a common belief that existing paradigms are inadequate to inform some critical economic policies, especially those involving stagflation. This is stimulating a reexamination of assumptions about important variables and relationships. Most notable is the examination of the role of

Observations on the Political Economics of Regulations

This conference on regulation responds to a demand for better understanding of the U.S. regulatory system. Public officials, business leaders, news reporters and citizens in general are raising serious questions about existing government regulations. Questions are raised about the benefits and costs, the complexity, the apparent irrationality, the unanticipated outcomes and failures to achieve perceived objectives. At the same time newly defined problems and public concerns, and new groups with political awareness and power have created a demand for additional regulations. I assume that to regulate means to control, to direct, to govern directly and indirectly. To define regulation broadly emphasizes the ubiquity and complexity of regulations and focuses attention on alternatives and problems in regulating economic behavior rather than on the meaningless question of whether to regulate or not. It focuses attention on the political economy as a regulatory system. Economic behavior is regulated in many ways. Resources are never allocated simply by the market. A regulatory system is always assumed. It is useful to think of the market as

Confronting the silent challenge of hunger: a conference synthesis

This report is a synthesis of views presented at the Confronting the Silent Challenge of Hunger USAID Conference, June 28-29, 1994. The purposes of the conference were to provide information to assist AID in defining and articulating its development strategy related to agriculture and food security, to identify issues of consensus for incorporation into future AID strategy, and to identify critical issues of ongoing debate which need to be resolved.

SOME ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION POLICY: PROBLEMS IN PREFERENCE ARTICULATION

This paper addresses questions having implications for policy analysis that are concerned with political-economic problems of improving the performance of the U.S. transportation system. Attention is focused on problems of instituting market and political mechanisms for articulating preferences for transportation. The following issues are addressed: development of transportation meta plans (plan for making plans and policy decisions) at national, state, and local levels; pricing and regulations as related to user chrges, cross-subsidizing captive rail shippers, and rail car shortages; jurisdictional boundaries, specifically geographic and agency boundaries; adjustment to energy situation, i.e., market problem, energy efficient railroads, conservation practices, and regulation of oil use; settlement pattens regarding transportation and energy; wonership and property rights related to transportation, including pipelines; and observation of political practice with regard to settlement patterns, cross-subsidies, rationalization, ownership, substitute service, benefit-cost analysis, public hearings, and implementation. The authors purpose was to pose these questions and not to answer them; because there is no unique optimum transportation system. It was concluded that neither the market nor the political process is very effective as mechnisms for preference articulation for such complex products as the national transportation system. While good applied political-economic analysis will not produce a perfect system, it can make a useful contribution. To be useful, economic analysis must be tuned into the reality of the political system.

Advertising in Social Perspective

This article examines many of the arguments for and against advertising in terms of the well-being of society. Advertising is a market phenomenon with significant social implications, with a potential for both beneficial and harmful effects. The net effect depends upon the societys ability to institute market rules to reap the benefits while avoiding the harmful effects. Economic theory is of limited value in analyzing the social consequences of advertising.